Off-highway load hauling machines, such as mine or quarry trucks, typically include a heavy metallic frame supported at the front and rear by two or more sets of wheels, a truck bed pivotable at the rear end, and an engine to move the truck. Such off-highway machines typically carry very heavy payloads, for example, several tens to hundreds of tons of material such as sand, gravel, mining materials, etc. Further, an off-highway truck typically travels over undeveloped and unpaved roads, which typically do not have a smooth or flat surface. As a result different amounts of ground load may be reacted through the wheels of the truck on different portions of the truck frame.
The frame for an off-highway truck typically consists of heavy gage metal beams and plates welded together and designed to support the weight of the payload and to withstand the torsional and other stresses induced by the uneven ground loads. These structural requirements make the frame heavy. Any prime mover used to move the truck must not only move the weight of the payload, but also the weight of the truck frame. To improve fuel efficiency of the prime mover and reduce the cost of operating such machines, it is desirable to decrease the weight of the machine while improving the machine's ability to carry higher payloads and also withstand the stresses generated during operation.
One potential solution replaces the machine frame with a space frame that includes triangulated structural members connected to each other at nodes or joints. Typically, such space frames have only been used for low-profile light trucks that can transport people. Employing a space frame to support the weight and the payload of off-highway load hauling machines requires joining structural members having relatively larger dimensions and thicknesses. Moreover, connecting such structural members may require specialized tooling and fixtures, which may add to the cost of manufacture and the time required to manufacture the space frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,626,434 to Cook issued on May 6, 1997 (“the '434 patent”). In particular, the '434 patent discloses a node to connect frame members. The '434 patent discloses prefabricated elongated frame members with headed ends, which fit into matching recessed sockets in the connector joint. The '434 patent further discloses that the connector comprises three parts which nestle one on top of another on a common axis and which are held together with a single bolt fastening means. The '434 patent also discloses that mating pair of interior surfaces have matching recesses which in pairs form sockets for receiving the frame member head ends. Further, the '434 patent discloses that a minimum of two chordal frame member ends and corresponding pairs of matching recesses are T-shaped and located between and on the interior surfaces of the first and second parts. The '434 patent also discloses that the head ends are bolted on to the frame members.
Although the '434 patent appears to disclose a connector capable of connecting frame members both in-plane and out-of-plane, the disclosed connector may still be inadequate for off-highway load hauling machines. For example, the disclosed frame members of the '434 patent include head ends bolted to frame members. The bolted head end joints of the '434 patent may not be able to carry the loads generated due to the weight and payload of an off-highway load hauling machine. Further, the disclosed bolted joints of the '804 patent may not adequately withstand torsional loads imposed on the space frame. Additionally, the bolted joints may become loose during operation of the off-highway load hauling machine, making it unsafe to operate the machine. Tightening the loose joints may be difficult, time consuming, and may require the machine to remain out of service for a long time. Manufacturing the connector parts with curvilinear sockets to receive the spherical shaped head ends may also require complicated fixtures and expensive machining processes.
The node of the present disclosure solves one or more of the problems set forth above and/or other problems in the art.